SENTRY JOURNALhttp://www.sentryjournal.com
Fighting each day to restore the constitution and save our republic with conservative solutions.Mon, 21 Jul 2014 23:55:42 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.1.1Taking the Senate Doesn’t Matterhttp://www.sentryjournal.com/2014/07/21/taking-the-senate-doesnt-matter/
http://www.sentryjournal.com/2014/07/21/taking-the-senate-doesnt-matter/#commentsMon, 21 Jul 2014 23:55:42 +0000http://www.sentryjournal.com/?p=11772I’m writing here because I can – it doesn’t mean that we’re returning to full time writing.
To the point. A lot of you out there are putting your support behind McConnell and Cochran in order to assure a majority in the Senate. Let me stop you from making that mistake by laying out some reasons not to and then explaining why getting them out is more important than taking the Senate.

First, what they did in Mississippi is as insulting as it gets. Even Hillary Clinton spoke positive of the GOP going after true conservatives and “expanding their base” (as if). Of course she doesn’t give a hoot about republicans expanding their base – she is just happy to see conservatives lose. Well, it was McConnell and the GOP establishment who used the most disgusting tricks against their own party members that I’ve seen in my adult life – calling McDaniel a racist, and suggesting that his anti-Obama sentiments were bad (which implies Thad thinks that Obama is peachy). How can a conservative possibly pull the lever for either of these guys who is willing to sell you out so quickly?

Second, they’re not true conservatives. Oh, I know that they rate well with certain think tanks or conservative grades; but many of those votes are showboat in nature. They make the vote to get their score; not to push the conservative agenda. Let’s put it to the true test.

How many of you can name one instance where either of these boobs has shrunk government or expanded freedom? Am I wrong or were both of these guys in office for the second most expansive growth of government? Oh, and didn’t the GOP have control of both Houses? And didn’t we also have an establishment guy in the Executive? How well did that work out for conservative principles? How much limitation was set on the fed? No Child Left Behind, McCain Feingold, and three times the domestic spending of Clinton; 20 times that of Reagan! All of that was done with republican lead House and Senate.

But let us look at what change would be made if we took the Senate. McCain already said that he was going to overturn the Reid Filibuster Rule – giving the Senate Democrats more power than the Senate Republicans currently have. But let us suppose that we want to cut spending. Okay, it starts in the House, passes the Senate and then – crap – the veto comes. Do we have 2/3rds of either house? Nope. So the bill is dead. Knowing that the cowards in the House and Senate will simply sit on everything until 2016. So, THEN we will get stuff done right? Based on what evidence? The House could have used the power of the purse now against this President on any number of issues (Obamacare was the failed promise) but Johnny Boehner dropped that tool like a hot iron. They could have impeached on any number of executive overreaches (hiding witnesses from Congress, refusing to enforce law passed by Congress, handing out waivers in spite of law, etc.) and yet they didn’t even attempt.

The GOP will do nothing! They will look to the next election to gain the White House and then attempt to put in a big government republican like Jeb Bush. And then he will likely lose (like they always do). That doesn’t seem to matter though does it? I mean, McConnell supported Romney, McCain, Dole, both Bush boys and even Ford against Reagan. He’s a Rockefeller Republican and so are the rest of his ilk. They know how to lose. If they somehow end up winning (doubtful) do you think they will finally make conservative advances? If yes, based on what evidence? Rhetoric? They will expand their tentacles into cronyism, they will grow government, get involved in international affairs we have no business in, expand domestic spy programs, complicate the tax code further, and pass amnesty (if not already done).

The only way to change our government is to get rid of one of the two evils – not vote for the lesser evil. If McConnell loses his election in Kentucky and Thad his in Mississippi; who cares? Those are two very conservative states that will boot those senators in the next election cycle (hopefully for true conservatives). If you reelect them then the establishment will be emboldened and they will continue to crush the Tea Party with their allies from the left. If you vote them out then we get two democrats who will be able to do nothing in a republican controlled House and a possible slight controlled Senate. One is the path of no change and the other is a path of complete change.

We must lay the groundwork for the future – and that isn’t found on reelecting two guys who haven’t done any conservative change in 30+ years of politics. Send a message to the ones who insulted you and do the unthinkable; stay home or, as I plan to do in my state of Kentucky, vote Democrat.

]]>http://www.sentryjournal.com/2014/07/21/taking-the-senate-doesnt-matter/feed/2Baby Boomers: The Selfish Generationhttp://www.sentryjournal.com/2014/01/06/baby-boomers-the-selfish-generation/
http://www.sentryjournal.com/2014/01/06/baby-boomers-the-selfish-generation/#commentsMon, 06 Jan 2014 15:19:19 +0000http://www.sentryjournal.com/?p=11767Let me preface this piece with a few necessities. First, I grew up being told that my generation (X) was the worst. We were lazy, the television generation who expected everything to be given to us. No doubt every generation before mine had to deal with the same “when I was your age”, self-absorbed and forward blaming rhetoric. Never mind that we are the product of our parents (how did we become the television generation?).

Second, this isn’t an unthoughtful whining or a blind pointing at my parents for all of the world’s woes. I always found it somewhat sickening that my parent’s generation (not necessarily my parents) were willing to place their life struggles on the “greatest generation” that preceded them. It took a lot of reflection to make sure I wasn’t simply following suit.

Lastly, obviously not all baby boomers fall into the stereotypes below, but those who shaped their generation tend to and those who dominate their politics have few exceptions. Being a baby boomer doesn’t make you wicked.

There’s a strange dichotomy when it comes to the “Worst Generation” (the Baby Boomers); they stressed individual freedom from the social cohorts (“If it feels good do it”) but couldn’t stretch that ideal to fit into their economic philosophies. Champions for drug use, sexual liberation, and a no-consequence society understood on some level that their imprudent practices didn’t bode well for economic stability. No need for responsibility – the commune would supply.

The problem is that nobody in the commune had anything to supply and, eventually, those who became successful became miniature Ayn Rands. Greed for this generation was either evil or righteous and no equilibrium was found. Selfishness flourished on both sides. Baby boomers are the generation with the most tied up money in our nation’s history and also the generation who demands the most in entitlement. No wonder we constantly hear clamoring about the income gap. The gap isn’t so much the problem, it’s the mentality of this generation and their refusal to accept arithmetic’s conclusions.

For instance, Third Way, a Democratic think tank found that in 1962 about 32 cents per dollar was invested and only 14% on entitlements but by 2030 we are projected to have less in investments and entitlement spending above 60%. Such math should move the populous to implement major reform so that generations after aren’t bankrupted at the expense the previous generation’s entitlements, but that’s not the case.

Baby boomers not only overwhelmingly vote to protect their sacred cows (Social Security and Medicare) they have a history of voting for expansions. Every baby boomer president we’ve had has expanded entitlements; most recently Bush’s prescription drug plan, and of course, Obamacare. Every reform attempt made has been completely destroyed by the largest voting bloc in the nation – the baby boomers.

Another baby boomer dichotomy exists that takes selfishness to a completely different level with illogical conclusions pulled from every philosophy to support their venal greed. While hippies and bohemians criticized corporate or individual greed, they fancied their drug-induced sexual orgies. Responsibility be damned; they aren’t hurting anyone – they’re all about peace and love. Meanwhile 30 million voices were never heard or asked of their opinion.

The actions that lead to the decision of Roe v Wade may be the most selfish taken by that generation. While they sneered at corporatists for hoarding “unneeded” money, they were willing to deny life to a person for the benefit of sidestepping responsibility and at times worse, in order to cut ties with a financial burden. They made a barbaric evil a mainstream badge of courage.

Today abortion is less popular in America than it has been since the absurd ruling of Roe v Wade. Polls over the last 20 years have shown a steady decline in support among the younger age groups; the baby boomers have remained steady in their creed. In fact, the baby boomers are the only group that support it – those 70 years old and older don’t, nor do the 30 and younger. These generations X and Y are even being called the “pro-life generation” in some circles; something that would have undoubtedly been more prevalent had 30 million been allowed an opinion.

Hopefully the next generation can move beyond their partial extermination and correct the folly of their parents. That folly has created the greatest debt in our nation’s history by astronomical and incomprehensible measure, destroyed an infrastructure given to them, shipped a large portion of our best jobs overseas, wrecked manufacturing, ruined our good name internationally, and currently fills the chambers of the most pathetic congressional body this nation has experienced, ignores Constitutional law and the list goes on.

So…we have a lot to do. Let’s start by removing this generation from all political offices. What say you?

]]>http://www.sentryjournal.com/2014/01/06/baby-boomers-the-selfish-generation/feed/6The 10 Days That Changed The World: Washington’s Crossing the Delawarehttp://www.sentryjournal.com/2013/12/25/the-10-days-that-changed-the-world-washingtons-crossing-the-delaware/
http://www.sentryjournal.com/2013/12/25/the-10-days-that-changed-the-world-washingtons-crossing-the-delaware/#commentsWed, 25 Dec 2013 13:08:45 +0000http://www.sentryjournal.com/?p=11759Each year on Christmas Day I like to remind people what this day means to our nation. As Christians in America, we are free to acknowledge without fear of persecution from a King or tyrant the importance of the birth of Jesus and celebrate it as a time when our savior entered this world to not only save us but to fulfill the law of God. We are free to worship or not worship as we see fit because of the actions of men like George Washington and those who served with him.

On this day in 1776, George Washington embarked on a journey that changed the course of the Revolutionary War and helped secure the liberties and freedoms we enjoy today. God has truly blessed us as a people. Please take a few minutes to watch the below video.

]]>http://www.sentryjournal.com/2013/12/25/the-10-days-that-changed-the-world-washingtons-crossing-the-delaware/feed/6Christmas and the Miracle of Being Bornhttp://www.sentryjournal.com/2013/12/24/christmas-and-the-miracle-of-being-born/
http://www.sentryjournal.com/2013/12/24/christmas-and-the-miracle-of-being-born/#commentsWed, 25 Dec 2013 01:41:03 +0000http://www.sentryjournal.com/?p=11753

“His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.”

In this season Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus. It is somewhat interesting that we celebrate the birth, but that is not when Christ entered the world is it? Moving beyond the John 1:1 metaphysical (Jesus was here at the Creation), let us speak of the human being Jesus. The human being Jesus was, quite clearly from this passage, was given to Mary prior to his birth.

Too often I find people on the pro-death (choice they prefer) making arguments supporting the extermination of unborn babies. The basis of such arguments vary somewhat, but not greatly. A common argument that I see today is that I, as a man, cannot possibly fathom what it is like to carry a child and, given certain grave circumstances (again, which I cannot understand), should support the “right” of a woman to kill the thing inside of her to save her from a suffering (that I cannot understand).

In the end, I do confess that I do not know what it is like to carry a child. I must also confess that I do not what it is like to become pregnant in the case of rape, or as a very poor young woman, or as a minority with a boyfriend who ditched me, or as a drug addict, etc. Finally, I confess that I do not know any amount of suffering that could drive me to extinguishing the life of someone who is completely innocent in a desperate attempt to somehow lessen my suffering. Make no mistake, this is exactly what the argument of abortion is: the innocent shall die to potentially relieve the suffering of the living.

This ties, unintentionally, into the story of Christ in two ways – the first that I will reveal now. It could be said that Christ died as an innocent to relieve the suffering of the living. In fact, I’ve heard this position taken to justify the act of abortion. Of course, there are stark contrasts in the abortion of the unborn and the death of Christ. I think the most obvious is that the action of killing Christ was not righteous, but sinful precisely because He was innocent.

The second way that this ties in is perhaps deeper. When Joseph found Mary pregnant we find no evidence of abortion ever being an option (and yes, abortion and filicide were common in that time). Joseph obviously assumes infidelity, but he does not chose to punish the child for this presumed misdeed. It’s a good thing too – because if Joseph kills Jesus in the womb, what then? In fact, if possible, would it be a greater sin to have killed Jesus in the womb or on the cross as an adult?

There is an important distinction and one of them is hidden in the first chapters of the Bible. In Gen 4:40 we find that Cain had struck able and killed him. God responds by saying “What have you done? Listen! The voice of your brother’s blood(s) cries out to me from the ground”. The Hebrew speaks of the blood(s) as a plurality – pointing to the murder or not only Abel, but all of his potential descendants. Abel had not yet had any children; just like every unborn baby ever killed…and that potential is the distinguishing factor.

We do not know whom we have killed, what they might have done, how they might have changed the world. When we end the life of a person in the womb, we end any chance for them to love, to be loved, to hold someone’s hand, to have their own children, to create, invent, and live life. Really, what greater abuse could there be on another?

As some of my readers and friends know, my mother was raped at 14. Not a month past 15 she had me. She has suffered greatly, she has taken many thorns and many arrows for my sake. Her circumstances and suffering are unfair and unholy…but I am forever grateful for them. I would never wish for my mother to suffer, though she continues to, and I would never wish for anyone to go through what she has gone through. Still, I cannot help but acknowledge that many of her sufferings were done on my behalf in an age where the world advocated a seemingly simpler solution; kill the baby.

The lie lies in the promise of a solution. An abortion for any of these so called “justified” reasons neither heals the individual nor rectifies the problem. My mother would argue that I brought her healing, that having me was the best thing to ever happen to her, and sadly, one of the few good things that ever happened to her. She’s not happy to have been raped, she’s not happy to have suffered, but she’s happy to have me and that is something that I hope all of you can understand. You don’t have to be a raped woman to understand the humanity in loving your child nor the inhumanity in killing it.

I hope and believe that we will one day look back at this black spot in our nation’s history, where 30,000,000 babies and all of their potential were destroyed and repent the same way we do regarding slavery. That we will one day look back and wonder how we ever could, in the nation that is a beacon for human rights, so carelessly destroy the lives of so many humans.

As we celebrate Christmas let us all recognize that we are celebrating the act of Him being born; something far too many will not be able to celebrate with us on this day.

]]>http://www.sentryjournal.com/2013/12/07/pearl-harbor-disaster-for-japan-national-geographics-documentary/feed/0Post Constitutional Americahttp://www.sentryjournal.com/2013/12/06/post-constitutional-america/
http://www.sentryjournal.com/2013/12/06/post-constitutional-america/#commentsFri, 06 Dec 2013 14:51:45 +0000http://www.sentryjournal.com/?p=11745It’s time we accept reality and the premise of a new argument about America, or as Mark Levin calls it, Ameritopia.

Daily I am astounded by the number of laws and regulations that our legislatures have applied to us especially when juxtaposed with how unwell our politicians observe their own laws or even the simple legal document that created and guides them. We are a constitutional republic; that is to say, a nation created by a legal document that defines our system of government and then creates boundaries and limitations on what said government can do. It is largely a legal document written in the spirit of withholding power, not granting it. Further, and perhaps most importantly, it is law that necessitates a system of Montesquieu’s divided government and a system of checks and balances.

The fear of our founders was that the individual would lose their individual liberty – something commonly misunderstood today. We feel like we have freedom because we can go to the movies, or we can choose between Mac and PC; but as laws and regulations expand our individual liberties decrease. Liberty is never absolute and impossible to calculate, but we can appropriately quantify it based on the number of laws applied to us – except that even the Federal government is incapable of doing that. In fact, the fed can’t even determine how many federal criminal laws there are, much less regulatory laws, or active statutes or codes at a federal level – and we haven’t even begun to speak of state and local laws.

Now, while you can go to Lowes and choose whatever toilet you like, those toilets were already narrowed down by federal and/or state regulation. You may have picked your car, but literally thousands of regulations went into the building of that vehicle. At any given moment we are held accountable to an immeasurable number of laws that no individual is able to know… and we call this freedom? From what? Captivity? Okay. But are we free from interference, obligation, restriction, or control? You could pick your restaurant in Soviet Russia, but who wouldn’t call that form of government a type of despotism?

The irony, however, is that while the average citizen manages to stay law abiding in spite of the convoluted and uninterpretable legalities placed over him, our law makers, justices, and executives cannot follow their relatively simple guidance. In fact, they purposefully work in defiance of the Constitution for the purpose of gaining power. While many of us conservatives and libertarians have been screaming about this for years, it now being recognized by some on the left. This week liberal Obama supporter and professor of law at The George Washington University Law School, Jonathan Turley, spoke at a House hearing on the abuses of the executive powers by this administration (not that others are guiltless).

Let us reflect on a few that he brought up. The expansive war power of the President (Libya and the White House “kill list”), ignoring legislative mandates through the DOJ (refusing to deport illegals, refusing to enforce employer mandate), and shifting moneys without congressional approval or appropriations. The question, as Turley points out, is where does Congress have power anymore? He can mobilize a war machine without congressional approval, name appointees without congressional approval, defy appropriations (ripping the power of the purse from Congress), and simply ignore any laws passed by the legislative branch by not enforcing them through his Department of Justice via “prosecutorial discretion”. At this point, how far away is the Chief Executive from a Caesar? As Trey Gowdy asked in a congressional hearing on Wednesday, “If he [the President] can suspend mandatory minimum and immigration laws, why not election laws”?

Let us not forget that while the President is naming his czars, cabinet members, and even some justices without Congressional approval, more and more power is being handed to them. In fact, some have begun to call the extensions of the Executive the “4th branch” of our government. Meanwhile, areas within “4th branch” (the Justice Department, State Department, and IRS) all have huge scandals on their hands that have simply been ignored. How? Because Executive privilege is granted to them. Congress can’t even investigate these areas of government while the heads simply claim ignorance – along with the individual granting them privilege; the President. Tell me that’s not a conflict of logic and interest. “We are all ignorant of these criminal acts, but you must remain ignorant as well”.

The so called “most transparent” administration EVER has upped the ante on obscurities with the help of an opaque and willing media accomplice. The 4th branch consists of 69 agencies, 383 nonmilitary sub-agencies, and almost 3 million non-military employees. They each have their own guidelines, legalities, and powers that aren’t necessarily afforded to them by any elected individual and, as we’ve seen, aren’t held accountable by any elected individuals. Unfortunately, as the Washington Post correctly writes, “the fourth branch now has a larger practical impact on the lives of citizens than all the other branches combined”. Lost in all of this is the power of the state which was the principle antecedent for the framing of the Constitution in the first place. Now, not only has the state lost most of its powers, it has given them over to a “system of government” outside of the parameters of the Constitution.

The rulemaking is supposed to come from elected legislatures at the state and federal levels; but that is no longer our creed. It is the faceless bureaucrats who hand down regulations – and you have no reproach. The Washington Post again stated that “In 2007, Congress enacted 138 public laws, while federal agencies finalized 2,926 rules, including 61 major regulations”. How can Congress possibly oversee all of these agencies? How much less if they have been made impotent by an overly powerful Executive that has coopted this “fourth branch”?

Want it to get more frightening? Many of these agencies aren’t even held accountable by the Justice system and even have judicial powers themselves. Because these agencies have so many intricate regulations specific to the agencies themselves, Congress disassociated them from the judicial court system and assigned them their own administrative courts. Again from the Washington Post “In a given year, federal judges conduct roughly 95,000 adjudicatory proceedings, including trials, while federal agencies complete more than 939,000”. Meaning, of course, you’re much more likely to be tried by an agency than an actual court; completely throwing out your Article III right to due process within the Judiciary away. In fact, there are hundreds of examples of individuals who have been acquitted in federal courts only to be held under administrative charges from one of these agencies.

Where is this power granted in our Constitution? We have an executive that trumps congress, a fourth branch who trumps everyone and has no real check or balance… and we haven’t even talked about legislating from the bench, the Federal Reserve, or foreign powers. If we still live in a constitutional republic, pray tell me, what is its name?

]]>http://www.sentryjournal.com/2013/12/06/post-constitutional-america/feed/5A Thousand Little Things (Part 3 of 3)http://www.sentryjournal.com/2013/11/30/a-thousand-little-things-part-3-of-3/
http://www.sentryjournal.com/2013/11/30/a-thousand-little-things-part-3-of-3/#commentsSat, 30 Nov 2013 07:33:55 +0000http://www.sentryjournal.com/?p=11714Driving home from the hospital on Saturday night I was trying to wrap my brain around the events of the day. The reality that my mother was failing and she was more than likely not going pull through her ordeal was beginning to sink in even though her nurses were telling me that there’s always hope. On top of that with the exception of the doctor on call for the weekend most of the other doctors were very guarded about what they would and would not tell me. At times I felt like I was receiving mixed signals about my mother’s chances. I finally decided I needed to call someone who knew of such things. Someone detached from the situation. Someone I trusted. That person was my dear friend Jon. He had a medical background and wasn’t tied to the hospital or doctors taking care of my mother so there was no need be guarded about anything. I knew he would shoot straight with me and that’s all I wanted.

I called him on the way to my mother’s house and told him everything, from her hip replacement to being diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension. I told him about her current condition and being hooked up to a breathing machine. After a long pause he asked me if I was ready to hear what he had to say? I said yes. In a very clinical tone he explained to me what was going on with my mother’s lungs. He told me that it would take a medical miracle for my mom to recover. And if somehow that medical miracle happened she would need continuous care for the rest of her days. The quality of her life would be greatly diminished. As I said, I trusted Jon and I knew he would provide me with an honest assessment of my mother’s condition and he did. I am thankful for his friendship and that he was there when I needed him most. I never will forget what he did for me and my family.

The next day at the hospital I was informed that my mother’s condition had not changed. The breathing machine was doing most of the work for her and her vitals were stable. As I sat in the chair next to her the thought of losing my mother was almost unbearable. She always expected me to make the call to take her off a machine if prolonging her life was only delaying the inevitable. That’s easier said than done. The inner struggle I was going through was intense and painful. There were times when I felt like I couldn’t breathe. At one point a nurse entered the room and saw how distressed I was and asked me what I was thinking. I told her I was thinking about my mother and the way forward. I told her about the conversation I had with my friend Jon the day before and that perhaps the best way forward for my mother was to take her off the machine so she can pass peacefully. Up until that moment the nurses attending to my mother needs had been selling unicorns and rainbows in regards to her condition. They were always telling me that there was hope. This time was different. The nurse shut the door, checked my mother’s vitals and said, “You’re thinking right.” I decided I was going to talk to my mother’s doctor the next morning and depending on what he said, move forward from there.

It was 11PM when the hospital called. The nurse on the other end of the line informed me that the status of mom’s condition was changing. I asked what that meant. They said her lungs were failing and asked if they should resuscitate her if she slipped away in the night. My head was telling me to say yes, bring her back if her heart stops, but my heart was telling me to let my mother go. I replied “no”. I told the nurse I was on my way down. The hospital was 15 miles and about 20 traffic lights from my mother’s house. I called my brother and told him what was going on with mom and asked if he was going to meet me at the hospital. He told me no. So I set out on my own and embarked on a final journey with my mom that forever changed my life.

When I arrived at the hospital the on duty nurses were gathered around my mother’s room. Mom was struggling to keep her oxygen levels in an acceptable range. She was losing her capacity to process oxygen throughout her system. They told me she might not make it through the night. It was at this point I looked outside of her room and noticed a nurse I had not seen before in the ICU. She appeared to have a very pleasant way about her. She was moving from room to room but seemed very much aware of my mother’s condition and what was about to happen. I leaned over my mother’s bed and noticed her eyes were closed. I grasped her hand, leaned into her ear and told her I loved her so much and that I would always love her; however her works here were done and it was time to go and be with dad. It was time for her to go and I was going to help her cross over. I motioned for the nurse to come in the room. When she came in I told her I wanted them to remove the tube and take my mother off the breathing machine. If my mother was going to leave this world, she was going to leave it with her dignity intact.

It took about an hour for them to run through the procedures to take her off the breathing machine. By 1:15 in the morning she was breathing on her own. I stayed with her. Talking to her and letting her know how thankful I was, and how much I loved her. I told her it was time to go with dad. That her mother, father, and brother were waiting to greet her with open arms. Her eyes were still closed. If I had but one wish it would be to see mom look into my eyes one last time; however the chances of that happening were very slim because of the amount of morphine she was on. So I settled for holding her hand next to my face. It was around 4:45 in the morning and there was no significant change in my mother’s condition. She had been off the breathing machine for three and half hours and nothing had change. I asked the nurse about moving her from the ICU to hospice room so she wouldn’t have to hear all the morning activity of an ICU. The nurse agreed and said they would have to order the room for her. I buried my face back into my mother’s hand waiting for them to move her.

I wasn’t sure how long it had been since my hospice room request but something strange happened that forced me to lift my head up. I swear I smelled my dad’s cologne in the room. I looked up at mom and to my surprise her eyes were wide open looking up at the ceiling. I couldn’t believe it. I quickly made my way around the other side of her bed and gently tilted her head towards my gaze. It was my final chance to speak to her in this material world. I wasn’t going to waste it with a lengthy goodbye. I was going to keep it simple. I told her that dad was here to take her to the other side and not to worry about me, I was going to be alright. With those final words, my mother’s eyes rolled down and she looked directly into my eyes. With that last look; a final remarkable moment between a mother and her son she told me everything I needed to know to move forward in this life. She told me she loved me. She thanked me. And finally there would come a time when we would be together again. She was going to be whole again and her worries were over. And with that off she went to be with loved ones on the other side. She was gone.

I sat down in the chair next to my mother’s bed and began to sob as nurses entered the room to officially mark the time of death. What had I done this evening? I was directly responsible for my mother’s passing. There was no one else there with me. I was alone. What was I going to do? Then I felt a gentle touch on my shoulder. It was the nurse with the pleasant way about her I had seen earlier in the night. She asked, “What troubles you John?” Without thinking I blurted out, “I feel like I just killed my mother.” She gently rubbed my shoulder and with kind soft eyes she said, “Oh no John, you just had the tube removed. Nothing more.” All of a sudden I felt this peaceful warmth, almost a calming energy work through my body. Everything I was feeling, all the weight of my doubts and decisions I made in regards to my mother lifted off of me. For the first time in three weeks I felt like I could breathe again. This energy told me that mom was great now. That she was whole again. In an instant the remarkable final moment I shared with my mother changed me forever. I felt incredibly blessed and loved. I felt like I was blessed to get a rare glimpse of the “man behind the curtain” and because of it I have gained a new appreciation for life and how precious it is. The time we have here is short and we have much to do. And all of this occurred because of the touch and kind words from a stranger. I never got the chance to tell the nurse who comforted me that night thank you because I couldn’t find her before I left the hospital. I hope she knows how much her actions helped me heal and see how the events that unfolded that night with my mom were a blessing.

It’s been three months now and even though my mother is gone from the material world, she has forever left her imprint on my heart. Mom’s life was not defined by a few significant events, but one that comprised a thousand little things she did during her lifetime. She lived a full life and when I say full I mean it was full of family, friends, love, sorrow, and laughter. Her kindness and charity overflowed onto those she encountered each day. The one thing she wanted for each of us was to be good to each other, help each other, and find happiness in life. Her love for her family and close friends was unconditional and unlimited.

I’ll close with the final words from my mom’s eulogy.

Don’t mourn for our mother’s passing. She’s fine. She’s doing awesome. If you must mourn, mourn for the things she took with her. The love from her we felt each day. The kindness she showed towards people and animals and the generosity of her spirit. These selfless acts and gifts of the spirit will be missed by all of us. But know that her beautiful soul has forever left its imprint on our hearts, and as long as we hold onto that we will find a way to move forward and live again. We will come to understand that she hasn’t really left us because she is with us always in our hearts and memories. And that she will forever keep watch over us as we ride this roller coaster we call life…

A thousand little things.

God Bless.

]]>http://www.sentryjournal.com/2013/11/30/a-thousand-little-things-part-3-of-3/feed/10A Thousand Little Things (Part 2 of 3)http://www.sentryjournal.com/2013/11/09/a-thousand-little-things-part-2-of-3/
http://www.sentryjournal.com/2013/11/09/a-thousand-little-things-part-2-of-3/#commentsSat, 09 Nov 2013 16:30:06 +0000http://www.sentryjournal.com/?p=11689I spent most of Sunday packing and getting the car ready for the seven states 1,800 mile journey back to Pennsylvania. Oddly enough the car was the easiest part of all of it because a few weeks earlier I got a tune up and rounded it with new tires. I wasn’t sure what all I would need or how long I would be away from home. Because of all the uncertainty swirling around my mother’s condition, both my wife and I decided it would be best if she held down the fort while I was gone. I wanted to do everything I could to make sure my wife was set up for success because I simply didn’t know how long I would be gone . Being away from her for an undetermined amount of time was weighing heavy on my mind. I didn’t like the idea of being separated from her for an extended amount of time ; but both of us knew it was the best option in a scenario filled with crappy choices.

I left early Monday morning; exactly one week to the day since my mother’s hip surgery. This was my 8th trip home in 10 years; far too few visits in a span of 10 years. 27 hours of driving was the separation between my doorsteps and my mother’s driveway. Buried deep down in me I knew this could possibly be my last trip to the state I once called home. As I pulled out of my driveway a thousand little things were going through my mind. How long would I drive the first day? Where was I going to stop? Was I going to run into a lot of construction? I drove 15 hours on the first day and stopped somewhere in Wisconsin. I called my wife to let her know I was stopping for the night. I was already missing her. I crashed I soon as my head hit the pillow. I was beat.

I slept like a rock and was up early and on the road by 6AM. I still had 12 hours of driving ahead of me. My plan was to make it to the hospital my mom was at by 8PM. I arrived at 10PM. Construction and traffic had cost me some time. I parked on a side street and made my why to the floor the ICU was located on. I didn’t know what to expect. Would my mother be awake and if she was would she recognize me? I was extremely apprehensive about what I might see. I wondered if I would be strong enough to see my mother is such a helpless state. After a couple of wrong turns in the hospital I finally found the main desk in the ICU.

My mother’s room was off to the right of the main desk. I told the nurses on duty that I was her son and I just got in from North Dakota. They told me my mother was resting and I could see her if I wanted. They led me to her room and when I first saw her my heart sank. The full of life woman that was my mother lay helpless in a bed hooked up to a breathing machine and all kinds of monitoring devices. She looked so frail. I just stood there not knowing what to do or say. I finally leaned over to my mother’s ear and told her I was home and that I loved her. I held her hand. It was so cold. As tears began to fill my eyes I looked at the nurse and informed him I would be back first thing in the morning. I gave them my cell phone and told them call me if her condition changed. I kissed my mom on the forehead and told her I would see her in the morning. I left to head to my mom’s house.

I was at the hospital first thing. When I first entered my mother’s room I immediately noticed her hands tied to the bed rail. I looked at the nurses and they informed me they would be with me in a moment. When they finally came into the room I introduced myself, then asked why my mother’s hands were tied to the bed rails. They told me they had to tie her hands because she was trying to pull out the breathing tube. I looked at them and said, ‘”You will not tie my mother’s hand as long as I’m here.” They warned me that she would try to get the tube out. I replied, “Not while I am here.” They untied her hands. The five days I was with her not once did she try to pull the tube out.

The next five days were an emotional roller coaster ride that had it’s ups and downs. Mom seemed to make great strides the first two days I was home. The doctors were weaning her off the breathing machine and she was aware and responsive to commands. She knew I was with her and communicated to me by squeezing my hand. I felt very good about her progress then Friday morning came. When I walked into her room one of her doctors pulled me aside and told me my mother was in decline. I didn’t know how to take what the doctor was telling me. My mom just had two very good days. She must be wrong I thought. I sat down in the chair next to my mother. The room was strangely quiet. I look over at her and her eyes were open looking at me. I smiled and told her I was here and kissed her on the forehead. The nurse taking care of my mother came in the room to check her vitals and saw how distressed I was. She said not to give up. It was all rainbows and unicorns out of her mouth. Things were going to be ok. There is always hope she said. I stayed with mom the rest of the day. We watched the Waltons together. Held each others hand and stay connected in a way that only a mother and her son could do. Doctors came in and out of her room checking on her status. Looking for nonverbal clues, I was trying to get a read on where they stood with my mom. By Saturday afternoon all doubt was removed.

It was early Saturday morning and mom’s condition continued to deteriorate. The breathing machine was doing most of the work for her. She told my brother and me that if there ever came a time when a machine was keeping her alive, pull the plug. That wasn’t living in her opinion. Before I left her house for the hospital I grabbed one of my mom’s angel books. It was the kind of book that had real life short stories about people and their experiences with angels in the material world. My mom loved angels and had five or six books on the topic. This particular book was a birthday gift from her best friend who had visited her from Florida. The bookmark told me that she was about half way through it. I wasn’t sure if she could hear me or not, but I felt compelled to read it to her. Maybe it was to comfort my mom or maybe it was to help me cope with her current state, I guess at the time I really didn’t think about it. All I knew is something inside me told me to read out of it to her.

I read aloud the angel stories during the morning hours. At lunch I decided to get some air and go for a walk. Right next to the hospital was a city park. I had a connection to the park because it was the park that my mother would take my brother and me to when we were children. I felt it would be a good place to talk to God. As I entered the park there appeared to be some sort of Saturday afternoon music festival going on. They were playing songs from the 70s. As I made my way through the park an old stone building off the beaten path caught my eye. I felt drawn to it. The weathered stone bricks and detailed design were remarkable. I walked up to the building and soon realized it was a park bathroom. It was nestled under some trees on the corner edge of the park facing the hospital. I walked around to the building admiring the detail when I noticed some steps on the back side of it. What better place to talk to God. I walked over to the steps, sat down, took off my hat and prayed. My request to God was a simple one. If my mother’s works were not yet done, I asked God to heal her. If her works were done, then I asked God to make haste and take her home. I wanted what was best for my mother and needed God’s help no matter His decision.

This is where I prayed.

When I made it back to the hospital after my prayer I saw one of the weekend doctors making his rounds. The doctor was a pulmonary specialist. I walked up to him and introduced myself. I asked him what was going on with my mom. He pulled me away from her room and asked, “Hasn’t anyone told you?” “Told me what?”, I replied. “We learned this morning that your mother has pulmonary hypertension.” I had no clue what pulmonary hypertension was, but by his tone I could tell it wasn’t good. He informed me that when the mini-clots went to her lungs, they damaged the capillaries. The capillaries are are key in transferring oxygen throughout the body. The condition was irreversible and at her age more then likely she would be unable to recover. I asked if the breathing machine was delaying the inevitable and he replied, “more than likely”. God had already decided before my prayer. My best friend, my mother was leaving this world and there was nothing that modern science could do to stop it…

]]>http://www.sentryjournal.com/2013/11/09/a-thousand-little-things-part-2-of-3/feed/12A Thousand Little Things (Part 1 of 3)http://www.sentryjournal.com/2013/11/04/a-thousand-little-things-part-1-of-3/
http://www.sentryjournal.com/2013/11/04/a-thousand-little-things-part-1-of-3/#commentsMon, 04 Nov 2013 10:00:59 +0000http://www.sentryjournal.com/?p=11675Where to begin… A few months ago my family lost our beloved mother. It caught all of us by surprise, an unexpected event that turned our world upside down and changed my life forever. In August on a Saturday evening my mother tripped over her cat and broke her hip. My wife and I were celebrating the completion of our summer patio project with our friends at a barbeque when I received the call. My mother had fallen and she was waiting for help. There was nothing I could do 1,800 miles away.

The next 16 days were the roughest of my life. I spoke to mom the day before her surgery and she was positive and upbeat, telling me not to worry everything was going to be alright. I wasn’t so sure. I searched hip replacement surgery online and discovered it wasn’t a walk in the park. In fact the mortality rate is quite high because of post surgery complications related to hip surgery. The day of her surgery seemed like an eternity. Hour after hour ticked by and I didn’t hear word. Finally my brother called late in the afternoon and informed me that mom’s surgery went well; however she was still in the ICU because she was having trouble coming out of the anesthesia. This was one of the post surgery complications I had read about. Little did I know that it was only the beginning of her problems.

The days following her surgery I was trying to decide when it would be the best time for me to go home. I had a limited amount of leave so I wanted to be smart with it. A thousand little things were going through my mind. Would she need long term care? Should I start making arrangements to move her out with my wife and me and would she even want to? What kind of care would my mom need and could she get it out here in North Dakota. So many things had to be addressed and I had no starting point to address them. It took two days for her to recover from the anesthesia. She was moved from the ICU to a regular room and all the information I was receiving is she was eating and talking. Things looked as if they were moving in the right direction, then my brother called and told me she was having some cognitive issues.

I could hear the panic in his voice over the phone. “She didn’t even know who I was”, he said. I spent the rest of the day leaving messages for her doctor to call me. I wanted to know what was going on with my mom. It was late afternoon when her doctor finally got back with me. She told me that my mother had experienced a series a mini-clots in her brain. These clots were caused by the trauma to her hip and fatty tissue that had passed through her blood system. The good news was the clots did not impact her motor functions. The bad news; they were directly related to her memory loss. The doctor seemed more concerned with my mother’s breathing than her cognitive issues. She asked me a series of questions. Did she ever smoke? Did she have asthma? Had she ever experienced trouble recovering from surgery before this? I knew something was very wrong by the tone of the doctor’s voice. I began to make plans to head back to Pennsylvania.

The next two days saw my mother’s condition deteriorate. Her best friend flew up from Florida to spend some time with her. I spoke to my mom for the first time on Friday, four days after her surgery. She kept telling me how much she loved me. “I love you, I love you”, she repeated over and over. I told her how much I loved her and that I would call her in the morning. Again she said, “I love you.” Those were the last words spoken between us. My mother was moved back into the ICU the next day because she was struggling with her breathing. They incubated her. Her best friend from Florida called me on Sunday and said I had better get home. I left early Monday Morning, exactly one week after her surgery.

As I began my 1,800 mile trip a thousand little things were banging around in my mind. I had no idea what to do or what to expect. All I knew is I had to get to her. I needed to see my mom. I was on my way home.

]]>http://www.sentryjournal.com/2013/11/04/a-thousand-little-things-part-1-of-3/feed/17A Way to Meaningfully Resist ObamaCare?http://www.sentryjournal.com/2013/08/08/a-way-to-meaningfully-resist-obamacare/
http://www.sentryjournal.com/2013/08/08/a-way-to-meaningfully-resist-obamacare/#commentsThu, 08 Aug 2013 10:38:00 +0000http://www.sentryjournal.com/?p=11662What if you could say “nyet comrade” to ObamaCare with minimal consequences? After all, if people cam resist ObamaCare, they can save themselves from many of the negative consequences. And, it’s a great way to be subversive, and help hasten them collapse of that system. Dean Clancy, in an article at the Washington Times, discusses his concept as to how…

Under Section 1501 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, we’re required to certify on our yearly tax return whether we have “acceptable” coverage. However, the Internal Revenue Service is forbidden to use any penalty to enforce the mandate, except for a user-fee payment, which the IRS can only collect at the end of the year out of any tax refund we may be owed. This means we can simply sidestep the fee by carefully adjusting our withholdings to avoid being owed a refund. As for the amount, it’s comparatively small: in 2014, just $95, or 1 percent of income, whichever is greater, rising to $695 or 2.5 percent of income in 2016 and thereafter. It’s a pittance compared to the cost of compliance.

So, if Dean Clancy has this right, we can make sure we break even with the IRS, and there is no penalty. In all reality we shouldn’t be feeding the beast any more than needed anyway, so sending them extra money is something we might just want to avoid. After all, why feed the enemy of freedom-the state, more than is absolutely necessary?

Clancy also has some ways to get insurance, and still not fully comply with ObamaCare…

Not comfortable with being uninsured? No worries. You can still take a bold stand and preserve your freedom by taking the four steps I call “peaceful non-compliance”:

3) Open a Health Savings Account, which allows you to pay for care with pre-tax dollars (and if you can, make the maximum allowable contribution each year).

4) Consider supplementing your insurance with critical illness coverage, which pays a lump sum in case of a specific diagnosis.

So, there are ways to get the kind of insurance that you can use, and at the same time, be outside of the ObamaCare tyranny.

Just as a note, I am NOT suggesting that anyone commit tax evasion. Follow all relevant tax laws. What Clancy is suggesting is that we use what appears to be a loophole in the law that allows people out of the penalty by not having an income tax refund from which to deduct the ObamaCare penalty. Will regressives scoff at this? Of course they will. I would simply suggest that we are using the Cloward-Piven strategy, and for regressives, that is a perfectly acceptable means to achieve change. After all, we’re just following that fine example. Then, they couldn’t possible disagree without being hypocrites, right?

Note: I’m discussing the statements and opinions of someone else in this post. Do not mistake this blog post for legal advise. While I hope this works, and I personally plan on using this strategy, I cannot guarantee any outcomes. Consider this at your own risk.